Stranger Things: Season 1 (2016) (Target Exclusive)

[willbfree]

The price is great but there is nothing here for people who already have Netflix. Zero special features - no commentary tracks, none of the special effects reels that already exist and can be seen on Vimeo, nothing - and with four hours crammed onto each disc, the visual quality will be hardly better than a stream.

[rognvaldr]

Blind buy but I'm thinking I'll like it. Packaging is fun but to tall, s.o.b. Thinking I'll binge watch it tomorrow.

What (sub)category should it go under? Horror - monsters & aliens? or?

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by rognvaldr

Blind buy but I'm thinking I'll like it. Packaging is fun but to tall, s.o.b. Thinking I'll binge watch it tomorrow.

What (sub)category should it go under? Horror - monsters & aliens? or?

That works

[ArrestedDevelopment]

Originally Posted by brettxwt

Where are the dumb nitwits who said this release was fake?

It is fake. This is all work of the Illuminati.

[Captain Flint]

Originally Posted by willbfree

The price is great but there is nothing here for people who already have Netflix. Zero special features - no commentary tracks, none of the special effects reels that already exist and can be seen on Vimeo, nothing - and with four hours crammed onto each disc, the visual quality will be hardly better than a stream.

The satisfaction of owning a physical copy? Being able to watch it even if their internet goes down? Or if they don't even have Netflix to begin with?

[Cherokee Jack]

One of the local Targets I chose to go to had a grand total of two copies sitting among a bunch of unrelated titles at the back of the store. Meanwhile, some Spiderman film (generally don't watch Marvel films so I'm not familiar) had its own prominent display and was fully stocked.

Love the packaging for this btw. Agree with others that it feels nice and substantial. The supposedly unskippable previews are unforgivable however.

[The Valeyard]

I can't believe you're all falling for this fake release.

[Kyle15]

Originally Posted by willbfree

The price is great but there is nothing here for people who already have Netflix.

The price is great on movies in general but there's nothing included with them for people who have access to the internet.

[spanky87]

I'm sure this doesn't have the awful banding during the opening credits that is so apparent on the stream.

[Brandon K]

Originally Posted by willbfree

with four hours crammed onto each disc, the visual quality will be hardly better than a stream.

The encode and the picture quality is nearly flawless. The episodes are pristine on Blu-ray, much higher quality than a stream. 4 episodes per disc is pretty much a standard and they've delivered a superb presentation by maxing out the disc space - and NOT including special features or audio commentary, which take up space. These are absolutely at the upper end of the scale as far as picture quality goes for TV on Blu-ray. They are even higher quality than some shows that have 3 episodes per disc because this show has maxed out the disc and delivered an exceptional encode job (which is absolutely necessary for a show that mostly takes place in dark scenes), while the same more often than not cannot be said of other shows.

(Of course I wish they had included special features, you'll get no argument there - as a third Blu-ray, so as not to sacrifice quality on the episodes. But special features these days also really aren't what they used to be. I would have loved a full classic behind-the-scenes documentary, but barring that, I'm glad they didn't waste space on fluff promotional features. I'm just glad to have the show on disc, and in such high quality.)

[returnofthemack]

Originally Posted by prozacnation1978

Hope they kill Steve in season 2. He is a major douchbag

Steve might just be my favorite character from the show and it’s all because of his douchebaggery. Well, that and his sweet hair.

[Show spoiler]I would have liked it even better if he hadn’t redeemed himself at all and had run away and still ended up with the girl in the end.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by Nothing371

Yeah, that's exactly it. It's "perceived value". I sometimes post similar sentiments because I love our hobby. It's amazing what you can get for twenty bucks today.

But that's not the same thing as "actual value". Nor is it a "good value", when compared to similar units in the same category. This is just simply another new release. and tbh, I'm annoyed with the packaging. It doesn't serve a purpose and it's not even the same size as an actual VHS box; it's bigger.

Exactly! The box art is crap. Where is the 80s theatrical release mockup movie poster art that so many of us wanted?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love this show. So I'm disappointed by this release. I grow bored losing popularity arguments to the hype crowd. So I'll just see myself out. This show is already available on Netflix. Forced commercials and trailers on my purchased blu ray discs are unacceptable too. The echo chamber can continue talking about how it's so cool to buy something bigger than VHS sized because it makes them feel all warm and fuzzy inside like the way things were in the 80s. This release isn't anything special.

There will be additional releases for it down the line anyways, guaranteed. Probably even a steel with the proper art.

You don’t like it. Gotcha!

[djgcue]

Originally Posted by rbg08

Held a copy in-store and almost purchased it. Awesome packaging. As tempting as this set is, I’ll keep enjoying the 4K digital version until the series is complete and then get the entire series in 4K UHD Blu-ray. Everyone else...enjoy!

+1, I really like the packaging, but I'll wait for a 4K UHD release.

[themp3000]

I had it in my hand and carried it around with me but ultimately decided that I didn't like the packaging. Nor did I really need it. I can appreciate the VHSness but it wouldn't fit on either of my shelving units. It would drive my OCD bonkers. I'm trying to keep my budget under control (sales are not helping).

Anyways, my local Target got about 200ish copies and sold "around 20" yesterday from what I understand. That's never a particularly good sign when they got about 100ish Spidey exclusives and had 10ish remaining by end of business. If I get tempted again or there's a sale on them, I maybe inclined to take the plunge.

[Brandon K]

Originally Posted by djgcue

+1, I really like the packaging, but I'll wait for a 4K UHD release.

I'd be pretty sure that any possibility of a 4K release (and even eventual Blu-ray releases of Season 2 and any subsequent seasons) would depend upon the success of this one first. I hope enough fans and folks curious about all the hype will show their support for the show and for non-Studio streaming network shows to be released on disc... or else this might just be a rather grand but in the end failed experiment. Still, given the rather surprising amount of Stranger Things merchandise overall, I think it bodes well for the support Netflix is putting behind the show. One imagines they must have done some market research before getting into this rather extensive merchandise campaign...

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by willbfree

The price is great but there is nothing here for people who already have Netflix. Zero special features - no commentary tracks, none of the special effects reels that already exist and can be seen on Vimeo, nothing - and with four hours crammed onto each disc, the visual quality will be hardly better than a stream.

Uh, the video and audio on the disc set are both superior. Could have used a Dolby Atmos mix as this is an ideal story for it, but the lossless, 24 bit, 5.1 track is definitely fuller bodied than the streamed version. I also don't notice the heavy banding I saw on the Netflix online version.

[dizzydean]

Whats up the the 5 minute intro that opens disc 1? You can't skip it and each time I want to sit down and watch I'm going to have let the damn thing play each time!!! Only problem I found so far...

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by spanky87

I'm sure this doesn't have the awful banding during the opening credits that is so apparent on the stream.

I don't see it. I'm sure there's some there if you elevated the black level past recommended pro calibration standards just due to the nature of 8 bit video.

I would love to see this on UHD Blu-ray with 12 bit Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by dizzydean

Whats up the the 5 minute intro that opens disc 1? You can't skip it and each time I want to sit down and watch I'm going to have let the damn thing play each time!!! Only problem I found so far...

That definitely was a crappy decision on Netflix's part.

[rickah88]

Forced trailers...okay, bathroom break and/or snack run.